Automatic telegraphic recorder



(No Model.)

I. ANDERSON.

AUTOMATIC. TELEGRAPHIG RECORDER.

No. 407,462. Patented July 23, 1889.

" ETERSv Phfllo-Lithn nphlr. Wahmglo D. C.

" UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

FRANK ANDERSON, OF PEEKSKILL, NEXV YORK.

AUTOMATIC TELEG RAPHIC RECORDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 407,462, dated July 23,1889.

Application filed May 7, 1889. Serial No. 809,862. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Peekskill, in the county of Vestchester and State of NewYork, have made a new and useful Invention in Automatic Telegraphy, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to improvements in automatictelegraphic receiving apparatus of the general type known as chemical oranalogous automatic recording-receivers, and the object is to devise apage-message record in which the recorded characters of the Morse andanalogous types are arranged in concentric or parallel lines on a pageof sensitized or equivalent receiving-paper, which shall avoid theannoying trouble incident to existing forms of pagerecords, wherein suchcharacters are sometimes divided at the end of one line and thecommencementof the subsequentline, thereby puzzling the reader andpreventing rapid reading. I accomplish this object by the arrangement ofparts and construction of ap paratns hereinafter described,and'particularly pointed out in the claims which follow thisspecification.

In all automatic telegraphic page-1"eceivers with which I am familiarwherein Morse and analogous characters are either placed upon asensitized record-page or by an ink-recorder said characters till theentire page from edge to edge, and there arises a possibility that someof the characters or parts thereof may be unrecorded at the edges of thepage. There also exists with such receivers a source of annoyance anddelay to the reader of the recorded message in the fact that thecombinations of recorded characters or symbols representing a singleletter are often divided at the ending of one line and the beginning ofthe line which follows, as I have already indicated in the statement ofthe object of my invention. My invention overcomes these annoyances, anda page-record is made having a marginal line on each edge of the pagesimilar to the marginal lines or edges of a book or printed page.

In order that my invention may be fully understood, I will refer to theaccompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference used.

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating diagrammatically the arrangement ofparts of the entire apparatus; and Fig. 2 is a side elevational viewthereof, showing part in section.

N represents a rotary receiving wheel adapted to be rotated by a handleI or by any source of power, said wheel being carried by a shaftjonrnaled in a frame. (Not shown.)

10 p are recording-pens, and B B B are radial pen-carrying arms fixedlysecured to electrical conducting-segments b l) I), attached to andinsulated from the wheel N and from each other.

2' f is a double leaf conducting spring adapted to bear upon the face ofthe conducting-segments b b b and connected by a wire 20 to the mainline running to the distant transmitting-station. (Not shown.)

P is a sheet of sensitized receiving-paper of the kind usually adoptedin automatic telegraphy, said paper being fed forward over the metalliccond noting-surface d by feedrolls 6, f, and g.

to is an earth-wire connecting the metal plate cl to earth.

The apparatus described thus far constitutes the subject-matter ofanother application for a patent filed by me in the United StatesPatentOffice ont-he 9th day of February, 1889, No. 299,264, and Ithereforemake no claim to it here, the claims of the present application beingdirected to features which I shall now describe, and also to suchfeatures in combination with the above described mechanism.

S and S are conducting contactsprings bearing normally upon thesensitized paper P at points near'the lower edge of the bearingconducting-plate (Z. These springs are connected in multiple are bywires 20 at t to the positive pole of a battery B A of sufficientcurrent capacity to act upon the sensitized paper P, the other pole ofsaid battery being connected by'a wire 0.0 to the bearing plate orsurface (1.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The transmitter (notshown) having been set in operation at the distant station, the wheel Nis rotated at substantially the representlike parts of the apparatuswherever same speed. as the transmitter and the paper 1 is fed forwardthrough the agency of feedrolls 0, f, and all. as disclosed in my priorapplication above referred to. As the paper advances the two marginallines "17/. and m are recorded upon the edges through the agency ofbattery B A. As the successive segiinent Z) is brought beneath thetwo-part contact-spring t the current from the distant battery dividesbetween the two pens then on the sur face of the paper, and a duplicaterecord is made so long as the illlStllzilIOtlSPitCG between these twosegments is passng beneath said two-part spring. This duplicate record,the refore, appears at the ending of the line where the right-hand penis passing out of circuit and at the beginning of the next line wherethe second or left-hand pen passing in. Now, the space between the twocontacts lrings S and S bears a fixed relation to the arcs of thesuccessive segments, so that all of the record made to the left andright of the lines on and m is in duplicate. in reading the recordtherefrom the operator has simply to read either all of the record tothe left of line on or all to the right of linem, or all. between lineson and m, and should he be in doubt about any character at the end of aline he need only look at the characters outside the lines or. and m toascertain if the letter is complete at the end of the line or has beencontinued on the next line below. Inasmuch as the record is duplicatedat the opposite edges of the page when any two pens are on .the paper,and as the distance between the two lines m and m equals the angulardistance between the pens, all that portion of the record made to theright and left; of these two lines is repeated, and by glancing at therecord thus made on the successive lines it will be at once apparentwhether a letter is complete at the right-hand end of the line or ispartially recorded on the next succeeding line. In other words, if adash occurs directly on the right-hand line 011, as the pen goes outot'ei rcui t, a glance at the left-hand end of the next succeedingrecorded line will disclose to the reader if this dash is the end ofthat letter or is followed by an independcut letter.

It will be understood that the record must be read as commenced, eitherbetween the lines m and m or to the left ('n'right, as indicated, andafter one becomes :wcustomed. to the system. it is found possible toread very rapidly.

I do not limit myself to the specific means shown for thus renderingpossible the rapid and intelligible reading of page-remrds, as it isobvious that manymodilied l'ormsmightbe submitted by which the repeatedcln'iracters are made.

I may and sometimes do use sensitized paper already prepared with thelines m and m having the required spzwing distance. These lines maybepreviously ruled upon the paper by inking-pens or in any prel'errmlmanner.

1 liavil'ig thus describei'l my i nvcntioinwhat I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patentot' the United States, is"

1. ln an automatic telegraphic receiver of the page type, a messageblankhaving marginal. lines, in combination with a receivingrccorder having aseries oi. pens connected to contactingsurfaces, insulated from eachother, and electrically connected by a twopoint contact-spring to thedistant transmitter, the contacting surfaces having a lixed relation tothe distance between the two marginal lint-s, whereby the charactersnear the ends of the successive lines are irtqniated, substantially asdescribed.

2. An automatic telegratniie record consisting of a series ofconeentrically-reeorded lines of characters upon a sheet of sensitizedpaper or equivalent material, said record, hay ing a definite portion ofthe characters repeated at the emling and beginning of successive lines,substantially as described.

1'). An automatic telegraphic record consisting of a series ofconeentrieally-reeorded lines of characters upon a sheet of scnsilizctlpaper or equivalent material, said rocorthpnper having two marginallines as indexes, outside ol'f which all the clnu'actcrs or portionsthereof representing tchrgraphic symbols are duplicated, substantiallyas described.

-it-. The combirn'ition. of two or more rotary receiving-pens with apmratus for proi'lncing marginal lines upon a sensitized page-rccor1l,consisting of two electrh' al. contact pens or springs connected to onepole of an clcctrical generator, in combination with a sensitized sheetof paper and a eontart' lg surface connected to the other pole ot saidelectrical generator, substantially as deserilncd.

The combinatimi of two or more rotary receiving-pens with means fornothing marginal lines on a 1 )age-rce .)rd, consisting of twocoi1tact-'1 1ens, in continuation with a sonsitized sheet of paper, acondmatingsupporting-surface, and an electrical generator con nected. tosaid pens and the conducting-surface, substantially as described.

FRANK ANDICHHUN.

\Vitnesses:

( .I. ltiw'rxun, A. E. Mcliueim'lm.

